


Across Worlds, Throughout Time

by ellenscult



Series: Across Worlds... [1]
Category: Stargate SG1
Genre: First Time, M/M, Quantum Mirror, Romance, Weddings, they made them do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-10
Updated: 2010-09-10
Packaged: 2017-10-11 15:38:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/113971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellenscult/pseuds/ellenscult
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not so much 'aliens made them do it' as 'they made them do it'. Research through the Quantum Mirror reveals a startling fact about how to improve the chances of Earth's survival. Now all Jack and Daniel have to do is discover if they're capable of putting that research into practice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Across Worlds, Throughout Time

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted to LiveJournal, FanFiction.net and Area52hkh.net.

'Come in, gentlemen. Shut the door and take a seat.'

Jack closed the door and dropped into the empty chair in front of General Hammond's desk. 'Sir,' he said cautiously. He glanced over at the other chair, answering Daniel's silent query with a twitch of an eyebrow that meant _no idea_.

Jack fidgeted, eyeing the manila folder under the General's folded hands, as the General looked steadily at the two men then cleared his throat.

'I expect you're wondering why I've called you in here.'

A barely perceptible tightness at the corners of Jack's eyes was his only reaction to the General's dispassionate gaze.

'You could say that, sir.' He flashed what was meant to pass as a smile, but his habitual slouch couldn't hide the tension in his neck and shoulders. He glanced over at Daniel once more.

The archaeologist frowned, pouted. 'I have to admit, I'm intrigued. I'm wondering what's so important and secret that you need Thor's little anti-bugging device turned on here, in your office.'

'Sometimes it's best to be safe rather than sorry, son.' Hammond cleared his throat again. 'I'm not entirely sure how to broach the subject, so I'm just going to say this outright and hope you'll trust me.'

This time Jack's eyebrow twitch was a very clear _uh-oh_, mirrored by Daniel's blink of surprise.

'Jack, Daniel, are you engaged in a homosexual relationship?'

For a second, both men stared at the General. Jack could feel his jaw drop. Then his tongue came back online. 'That's crazy! I'd never-'

At the same time, Daniel's voice rang out. 'What happened to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'?'

Jack turned his surprise on the younger man. 'Daniel?'

'Jack? No, seriously, George. I mean, no, there's nothing of that nature between Jack and myself, but still, aren't you supposed to not ask?' Daniel stared defiantly at the General.

Hammond sighed. 'You're absolutely right, Daniel. But in your case, DADT has been waived.'

Jack's eyebrows shot up. 'Sir-'

'And before you ask, Colonel, this has come down from the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.'

'What the hell?' Jack leaned back, flabbergasted. 'Tell me Kinsey has nothing to do with this.'

'Senator Kinsey has absolutely nothing to do with this, and thanks to Thor, I'm hoping it'll stay that way.' A touch of warmth colored Hammond's voice. 'All right, Jack, Daniel. For the record, I believe you. However, something has... come to light concerning you both, specifically, and, for want of a better way of phrasing it, the fate of the world in general. Here.'

He took out a sheet of paper from the folder and slid it across the desk. 'This was delivered to Area 51 through the quantum mirror.'

Jack took the sheet. Daniel moved his chair closer and read over his friend's shoulder.

_To: The Commanding Officer of the SGC (hopefully General George Hammond), Cheyenne Mountain_

Sir,

Greetings from an alternate universe. We recently had contact with our future selves, who provided us with data from a survey of 100 alternate worlds to either side of our own. The worlds were closely related, and apparently the scientists who undertook the survey were hoping to find some commonality which could be used to help tip the odds in favor of Earth's survival. Frankly, I was skeptical, but hey, have to hand it to them, they found it. Only it's not quite what they were expecting. No great honkin' space guns, sir. Sorry.

It's us. More specifically, it's the relationship between Dr Daniel Jackson and myself. In worlds where Daniel never joins the Stargate program, Earth falls. Every single time. And in worlds where he joins, but I don't, things don't go so great. Where we work together, as a team, as friends, on the whole we do okay. But the worlds in which Daniel and I are together, Earth's survival as a free, uninvaded planet is practically assured.

Now, I know rules and regulations vary from military to military, and laws vary from USA to USA. On some worlds, we're - I'm - so conditioned to heterosexuality that it never once occurs to me there could be anything more. And if this is one of the worlds in which that kind of relationship simply cannot happen, well, best of luck to ya.

All joking aside, this is the single best advantage you can give your Earth. I'm not saying success is one-hundred-percent-guaranteed, but honestly, could it hurt to give this a shot? Get your Jack and your Daniel together and you'll see that together they can do the impossible.

Yours sincerely,

Col. Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neill.

'Oh, my,' Daniel murmured, blinking rapidly. 'That's, uh...'

'God!' Jack dropped the letter back onto the General's desk and scrubbed his face with both hands. He looked tiredly at his CO on the other side of the desk. 'Respectfully, sir, how do we know it's not a crock? Something dreamed up by the NID to take out both Daniel and myself?'

The General regarded the men with compassion. 'It's been analyzed by our scientists and from the quantum signature, I'm assured the letter originates from some other reality.'

'How long have you known about this?' Daniel asked. He leaned forwards and balanced his chin on his fists, elbows digging uncomfortably into the knee that was crossed over his other leg.

'It came through the mirror around two weeks ago. Area 51 alerted me then and I alerted the President. When we got the results of the tests back, the President consulted with his legal advisors and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trust me, gentlemen, when I say I've had more than a few late-night calls hashing this thing out.' Hammond said dryly.

Jack blinked, shrugged. 'So? What is there to sort out? Daniel and I are best friends. We don't have that kind of a relationship. We were both married, for chrissakes! To women!'

'And we are all very well aware of that fact, Colonel,' the General reassured him. 'If it had just been the letter, well... But they sent through the raw data from the survey.'

'Could I have-' Daniel began.

'It's on a CD waiting for you, Doctor Jackson.' The General smiled. 'I don't need to tell you to keep this to yourself, do I?'

'No, sir. Thank you,' Daniel subsided.

'There's more, isn't there,' Jack said, resignedly. 'Might as well lay it all on us now, sir.'

'Yes, there's more. In addition to waiving Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have also waived the regs concerning sodomy, fraternization and conduct unbecoming to an officer. Only, I hasten to add, in regard to your relationship with Doctor Jackson. In light of the other item which came through the mirror, they have also granted you both a valid, legal, marriage license and instructed me to place the base chaplain at your disposal.'

Hammond pushed a small polished wooden box across the desk. Jack stared at it as though he thought it might turn into a venomous insect and bite him at any moment. Daniel picked it up and opened it.

Inside the box were two gold rings.

'Wedding bands?' Jack's voice held a tinge of hysteria. 'I've heard of shotgun weddings, but this is...'

Daniel carefully lifted one of the bands out. '_Across worlds, throughout time, together always_,' he read softly. 'It's in Abydonian.'

'Who'd have thought we'd be this sappy?' Jack looked at Daniel, who looked back at him, still holding the ring, and the breath caught in Jack's lungs. For a long moment their gaze held, and Jack wasn't sure what it was he saw in Daniel's eyes, but he felt as though he were going under for the third time when the General spoke.

'Gentlemen,' Hammond's tone was soft, but implacable. 'I realize you probably want nothing more than to head home and forget this over a couple of beers, but I can't risk word of this getting off-base. I've had Sergeant Siler prepare one of the VIP suites. The cameras are well and truly disconnected and you can take Thor's gadget with you. I've taken the liberty of getting in two early-bird specials from O'Malley's, which should be here any minute now. You have forty-eight hours to get this sorted out between you. Meals will be left outside the door, SFs will be guarding the corridor. You won't be disturbed.'

He sighed again. 'I know you've both given a lot for your country, for your world, and I'm very well aware this is not something we can order or expect from either of you. But please, go, talk it over. Let me know what you decide and whatever that may be, I'll clear it with the President. It's not easy, gentlemen. Not friendship, not marriage. Just... make sure it's worthwhile.' He took back the ring box, closing it carefully, then handed a CD in a plastic wallet to Daniel and Thor's anti-bugging device to Jack. 'Dismissed.'

In a daze, Jack wandered down the corridor and into the elevator, aware only of Daniel's presence at his shoulder.

'I'll, uh, just grab a few things from my office,' Daniel said, punching the button for his floor.

'Yeah, good idea...' Jack did the same, then looked down at his feet, avoiding looking at his friend. 'Meet you there in ten?'

'Sure, sure...' Daniel stared at the elevator doors. As soon as they opened, he took off down the corridor. Briefly, Jack wondered about the feasibility of locking himself into a storeroom, or maybe a dash through the gate to P3X-anywhere-but-here. With a groan, he headed down the corridor towards his own office. Orders were orders; even weird-assed orders like these. Besides, George had probably got the 'Gate locked down by now, anyway, and it wouldn't take too long to search the base. Best just to think of it as a two-day lock-down. Or better yet, not think of it at all.

Jack grabbed his yo-yo and a novel from his desk drawer, then swung by the locker room for a change of clothes. After a moment, he raided Daniel's locker too, finding the pile of clean t-shirts, underwear and socks he knew his team-mate kept stashed in case of emergency. Then, with the air of one going to his own execution, he walked somberly down the corridor towards the VIP suites.

He'd had time to set up Thor's doohickey, verify that the cameras in the suite had been disabled, check the refrigerator, which was fully stocked with beer, white wine, and even a couple of bottles of champagne, and find the condoms and lube in the drawer of the bedside table, by the time Daniel opened the door. He struggled through, arms full of books, papers and his laptop, which he immediately dumped on one half of the bed. The only bed.

'There's a tray outside,' Daniel said distractedly, ordering the clutter into piles. Jack rolled his eyes, but fetched it in.

'Smells tasty. Leave that and eat it while it's still even moderately close to lukewarm,' he said, putting the tray down on the small table and opening one large polystyrene box.

'In just a minute. I want to make sure I've got everything.' Daniel shuffled through a handful of paper.

'Now, Daniel. All that crap will still be there in a minute, but your dinner will definitely be cold by then. Besides, once we've eaten, you can spread it all out on the table.' He crossed to the fridge and pulled out two beers, then put one back and retrieved a bottle of white wine.

'Is that wise?' Daniel asked, finally taking a seat at the table.

'Given what we've been ordered to discuss? I'd say yes,' Jack said lightly, deftly uncorking the wine. He poured a large glass and set it in front of his friend, then uncapped his beer and sat down. He raised the bottle in salute. 'Cheers.'

Daniel picked up his glass. 'To us.' With a smile that was closer to a grimace, he took a large sip of wine.

'Yeah, whatever that is...' Jack swigged from the bottle, set it down, then picked up a fork and poked cautiously at the slab of steak. 'It seems wrong, somehow, eating steak out of a carton.

'Mm. Think there are real plates in here?' Daniel asked, getting up to search the cupboard in the corner. 'Aha!' he returned triumphant, sliding one plate in front of Jack as the older man lifted up his boxed meal, then settled down to take care of his own.

The men ate in companionable silence. When Jack had finished off his beer, he grabbed another, and when Daniel's glass emptied, Jack refilled it.

'Planning on getting drunk?' Daniel asked, forking up the last of his mashed potatoes.

'Planning on talking sober?' Jack countered, spearing Daniel's last carrot.

'Hey!'

'Should eat faster,' Jack mumbled.

'I don't believe you just did that!' Daniel protested, then stopped as he caught sight of the mischievous twinkle in Jack's eye. 'Bastard,' he grinned.

'Back atcha, Dannyboy. Think there's pie?' Jack scraped up the last of the gravy.

'On a day like today? Who knows?' Daniel shrugged. He dropped the cutlery on his plate, stacked Jack's plate on top, and put them back on the tray along with the boxes the meals had come in. Jack put his empty beer bottle on the tray too and took it to the door. He listened a moment, then pulled the door open rapidly, checking up and down. The backs of two SFs were just visible, standing on guard at either end of the corridor. There was no one else in sight. Jack put the tray on the floor, then closed and locked the door.

'No pie,' he said sadly, going to the fridge for another beer. He topped up Daniel's glass again while the younger man moved his books and papers to the table. He sat on the bed and unlaced his shoes, tucking them at the side where he knew he'd find them even in the dark in an unfamiliar room. He stretched out, leaning back against the headboard, and fiddled with his beer, his attention firmly on the label. 'So... We talking?'

'Not until I've had a chance to look through that data,' Daniel said, flopping down onto the other side of the bed. He opened up his laptop and inserted the CD. 'Later.'

'They could at least have left a TV,' Jack groused. When Daniel ignored him, he fidgeted, finished his beer, got another, then settled down to read his thriller.

By the time Daniel had finished reviewing the survey data, he had also finished the bottle of wine, thanks to Jack topping up his glass every time he retrieved another beer from the fridge. Jack had gone from reading his book, to pacing, to playing with his yo-yo and back to reading. 'So?'

'Looks right,' Daniel said, closing his laptop and placing it on the table. He lay back on the bed with a sigh. 'So.'

'So.'

'Drunk enough?'

Jack dropped his book on the floor and lay down too. 'Never.'

'Me neither. Think we could get drunk enough to pass out for the whole two days?' Daniel glanced over at Jack, who was staring at the ceiling.

'Nope. Hammond would be pissed and Janet would have an excuse to stick needles in us. Again.'

'Big needles,' Daniel agreed, gloomily.

'So.'

They lay side by side in silence. Jack cleared his throat, glanced at Daniel. 'Hey! Are you going to sleep?'

Daniel hastily opened his eyes and blinked. 'No!'

'Shit.'

'Yeah.'

There was another silence. Jack rolled his eyes. 'So... Wanna fuck?'

'No. I have a headache. You?'

'No!' A longer pause. 'Think this'll convince Hammond we talked?'

'No.'

Jack rolled onto his side, propping his head on one hand. 'All right, Daniel. Let's talk. Have you ever thought of me in a sexual way? Ever wanted to bump uglies with me? Ever thought about, oh, I don't know, waking up with me every morning for the rest of your life? Because that's what's on the cards here, make no mistake.'

Daniel dropped his arm over his eyes and groaned. 'Open another bottle of wine, would you? I'm definitely too sober for this conversation.'

'I'll take that as a hell no, shall I?' Jack heaved himself off the bed and opened the other bottle of wine. 'Here.' He filled Daniel's glass and left the bottle beside the bed, then pulled another two beers out of the fridge and set them at his side of the bed. 'If it's any consolation, I never thought of you that way either.'

'Are you sure that isn't simply because you've been conditioned by spending your adult life in the military?' Daniel asked, moving his arm to snag his glass. He sipped and grimaced.

'What?' Jack snapped.

'It's a little sharp,' Daniel said, sitting up carefully so as not to spill any. He took another sip, larger than intended when Jack dropped onto the other side of the bed, jostling him. 'Watch it!'

'Yes, dear,' Jack snarked, setting to work on his next beer. 'You know, I'm finding it a little hard to believe that the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and my CO are telling me to fuck my best friend.'

'Lie back and think of Earth, huh?' Daniel commiserated. 'So what makes you think you'd be doing the fucking?'

Jack shrugged. 'I don't know, I hadn't thought about it. And that's the point, Daniel! I hadn't thought about it! Ever! You're my buddy, my best friend, my frequently annoying team-mate, my in-subordinate.'

'I'm not your subordinate. You're my boss. In military situations. In the field.' Daniel fell easily into the old argument. 'You're not my commanding officer because I'm not in the military.'

'See?' Jack snorted in disgust.

After a while, Daniel piped up again. 'Of course, we are pretty much married already.'

Jack choked on his beer. When his coughing fit had subsided, he glared at the younger man. 'What the hell do you mean by that?'

'Think about it, Jack. Neither of us is dating. We're not getting laid, or at least I'm not and judging by your temper, you're not either. We've been friends for years, even when we didn't like each other very much, even when we pretty much stopped talking. We've been doing the _in sickness and in health, till death do us part_ bit since that very first mission. You know me better than anyone else ever has, and you talk to me where you wouldn't dream of letting anyone else in. You've given me more of yourself, more of your heart than you've given anyone since Sara. And this happens to be by far and away the longest relationship I've ever been in. Just because we've skipped the whole having sex part doesn't mean this isn't a significant relationship. Face it, Jack. We're already married in all but name.'

Jack opened his mouth to refute Daniel's outrageous claim, then closed it again. He scowled and picked at the label on his beer bottle. 'I get laid,' he said finally.

'When?'

'When I actually get some downtime that isn't filled with recovering from injuries from the last mission, or trying to get all the jobs done around the house that keep on piling up because I'm never there because I'm always off-world, or being pulled back into work because some other team needs rescuing, or because there's some new threat to Earth, that's when.' Jack ran out of breath and pouted.

'And the last time would be...?' Daniel calmly sipped at his wine.

'Okay, so it's been a while! The point is, I could if I wanted to! Lots of women find me attractive.' Jack slammed his beer down on the bedside table. 'Lots!'

Daniel shrugged. 'Good for you,' he said quietly. 'I'm sure that's the case. I don't... It just seems like hard work, you know?'

Jack stared at Daniel, caught as Daniel raised his blue eyes to lock with Jack's.

'There's so much to do here, always more than I can ever catch up on. And there's so much out there, too, through the 'Gate. I get back to my apartment and I don't have the energy to get dressed up and go out, hit the bars, find some woman who might just be interested, lie about my job and spend all that time and energy on trying to get her into bed. It all seems a little... futile, I guess.'

Jack's face softened. 'Yeah. I know what you mean.'

'It doesn't mean we don't like women, just that...'

'It's too much effort?' Jack said, then barked a short, harsh laugh. 'God! That's so pathetic! You're right. We might as well be married.'

They sprawled in companionable silence and drank. A short while later, Daniel yawned. 'I think I've had enough.' He stumbled loosely off the bed and crossed to the small bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Jack finished his beer, put all the empties into the small metal waste-bin and found a couple of square inches of space on the table for Daniel's glass. He fished two bottles of water out of the fridge, placed one on each bedside table, and rummaged in the cupboard. Emerging triumphant with a bottle of aspirin, he shook out three tablets and placed them beside Daniel's water bottle, exactly where he knew his friend would be able to find them when he woke up in the morning with a hangover.

Then he stopped, stared around the room, and slumped onto the bed with a loud groan, covering his face with his hands. 'Damn it! We are married!'

Eventually, Daniel emerged and Jack took the opportunity to use the bathroom. There was a toothbrush still in its wrapper waiting for him by the side of the sink, along with a new tube of toothpaste. The toothbrush Daniel had used lay at the other side of the sink, next to a couple of new disposable razors. Jack unwrapped the toothbrush and cleaned his teeth, idly wondering what it would be like to share bathroom space with Daniel on a daily basis. Then again, he already knew the brands of soap and shampoo his friend preferred, knew that damp towels usually ended up hung over the door rather than dumped on the floor. He knew every face Daniel pulled while shaving, knew which aftershave he sometimes used. Nope, there really were no surprises any more in Daniel's bathroom habits. He spat into the sink and rinsed out his mouth, held the toothbrush under the tap.

'Married,' he muttered in disgust.

With the lights off, the room was pitch black. The quiet sounds of the ventilation system combined with the occasional hum of the refrigerator, and over it all lay Daniel's quiet huffing breaths. An occasional snore testified to the effect of the wine and to the state of Daniel's allergies. Jack quietly shucked off his trousers and socks and slid into bed, letting his friend's breathing lull him to sleep as he'd done a thousand times before, on and off world.

Morning brought Jack a need to pee and an armful of archaeologist. During the night, Daniel had rolled over and snuggled. Head half on the pillow, half on Jack's bicep, the younger man had an arm flung across Jack's chest and one leg tucked between Jack's. Jack swallowed, took a deeper breath, and felt Daniel wriggle closer. His thigh pressed firmly against Jack's groin, turning the older man's usual waking half-hardness into a full morning glory. The press of solid flesh at Jack's hip told him Daniel was in the same state. He shifted his hips, trying to move away without waking his friend, but Daniel snuffled a protest into Jack's neck and rocked against him.

Jack froze as Daniel nuzzled at him, sending a shiver of awareness straight to the older man's groin, which really didn't need any encouraging. 'Er...' he rasped, then cleared his throat. Daniel moaned, thrusting harder, clutching at Jack. 'God!' Jack breathed, his cock jumping. 'Daniel?' His arm automatically curled around Daniel's shoulders, and with his other hand, he reached over and touched his friend's cheek. 'Daniel!' His voice shouldn't sound that husky, should it?

Daniel moaned again and fumbled his way down to the waistband of Jack's boxers, the elastic a problem for his barely-awake dexterity. Moving lower, he managed to work his way through the fly instead, and Jack's cock sprang free of the material and into Daniel's hand. Jack choked, hips twitching up as Daniel's fingers closed around him.

'Mmm, yeah....' Daniel breathed, sucking loosely at Jack's neck. He pumped his hand in time with his hips and all Jack could do was hang on as Daniel's rhythm speeded up, grew erratic, then Jack felt the old familiar tension surge up from his balls and he was calling out, coming into his best friend's hand and moments later Daniel joined him, wet heat spreading across Jack's hip.

'Daniel!' Jack groaned, wrapping his arms around the solid bulk of his friend's back. 'God!'

'Mmph, Jack...' Daniel murmured, clumsily wiping his hand on Jack's other hip, then sprawling bonelessly even further across the older man. Within seconds, his breathing had evened out, slowed, and Jack knew he had dived back into sleep. Despite himself, Jack followed.

Waking a couple of hours later, Jack found himself spooned behind Daniel, chest to back, legs tangled together. This time, the need to pee had graduated to painful, so he carefully extricated himself from his sleeping team-mate and padded to the bathroom, managing not to bump into or trip over anything on the way. Once inside, he shut the door and turned on the light, stripped off his boxers with a grimace and took care of his most urgent problem. That dealt with, he washed his hands and grabbed his toothbrush, then caught sight of himself in the mirror.

'Shit.'

His neck was red where Daniel's stubble had rasped against it, but that wasn't what was bothering him. It was the look of satiation in his eyes, the satisfaction he recognized in the set of his mouth. He knew that look. It was one he'd seen countless times after early-morning sex with his wife, with Sara. No, not sex: love-making. Part of him wanted to protest. One half-awake hand-job from his best friend after a night of drinking didn't add up to making love, couldn't add up to being in love. But he hadn't had so many beers and he hadn't been the one still half-asleep, his traitorous mind informed him.

'Oh, crap.'

He brushed his teeth quickly, avoiding looking at his reflection, then showered. Shaving could wait. He left the light on in the bathroom and the door ajar. It provided enough light for him to dress and set the coffee maker going, enough light for him to sit back on the bed and watch his friend sleep. Daniel relaxed in sleep the way he almost never did while awake, the deep lines that bracketed his mouth, furrowed his brow, smoothing out into faint sketch marks. His hair fell across his forehead, making him look boyish despite the stubble that shadowed his jaw. And that mouth, the bottom lip so full, so kissable...

Jack started as Daniel let out a snort and opened his eyes. Blearily, the younger man licked his lips, his frown suggesting the taste in his mouth wasn't the freshest.

'Coffee?' he asked hopefully.

Jack handed him the bottle of water and the aspirin. 'This first,' he said firmly and waited patiently until Daniel obeyed him before switching on the light. Daniel pulled a pillow over his head until Jack removed it and held a mug in front of him, coaxing him upright. Once he was propped up against the headboard, clutching his coffee, Jack went and checked outside the door. Sure enough, there was a tray waiting, its contents covered with a cloth. He brought it in and set it on the bed, since the table held Daniel's books and papers. Under the cloth, Jack found cereal, a jug of milk, some waffles and a bottle of syrup. He poked the waffles.

'Still warm. Want some?'

Daniel, eyes closed again, shook his head. 'Coffee,' he muttered.

'Suit yourself.' Jack ate, leaving a couple of waffles although he knew Daniel probably wouldn't eat them, then slid the tray on top of the cupboard in the corner. He refilled Daniel's mug, poured himself some coffee and sat back down on the bed, leaning back against the headboard.

Daniel opened his eyes. 'So.'

'Yeah. So.' Jack shifted his pillow to support his lower back.

'If you like, we can put it down to alcohol and that letter and proximity to a warm body,' Daniel offered, sleepily.

Jack frowned down at his coffee. 'What, it's been so long that anyone would have done it for us? No, I don't like.'

'What, then?'

Jack turned his head to find Daniel watching him steadily, his expression giving nothing away. 'I don't know. I never bothered finding out where I fall on the Kinsey scale, and yes, I am aware of the irony in the coincidence of the name. Am I gay? I don't think so. But this morning... I liked it, Daniel. I knew I should have stopped you, but I liked it. I don't think it was the booze and I don't think it was because neither of us has gotten laid in forever.' He shrugged. 'I liked it because it was you.'

'And the letter?' There was a stillness, a tension to Daniel that made Jack wary.

'Might have a point?' he hazarded.

Daniel relaxed, smiled. 'Maybe,' he agreed. 'I need a shower.' He set his mug down on the bedside table and threw back the covers.

Jack watched him walk across the room, seeing the way his broad, muscled shoulders tapered to slim hips, a firm, small bottom and long legs. Not pretty, but definitely handsome. A sight he could stand seeing again, he decided. Every morning? He probed the thought cautiously, like poking a sore tooth with his tongue to see how much it hurt, and was surprised when the expected flinch didn't come. He sighed and got up, poured himself the last of the coffee and put another pot on, then snagged Daniel's laptop. When Daniel emerged, towel wrapped around his hips and hair standing up in all directions, he was busy typing out an overdue report.

By lunchtime, Jack was beyond bored. 'Whatcha doing, Danny?' Daniel was squinting at a printout of a photograph of something grey. A few darker grey scratches could have been the remains of an inscription, or could have been weathering to Jack's untrained eye.

'Going blind, I think,' Daniel admitted, dropping the paper with a sigh. 'There's simply not enough detail here. If I had a rubbing to work with, maybe I'd get somewhere.'

'Yeah, amazing where rubbing will get you,' Jack grinned.

Daniel blinked. 'You didn't just-'

'Oh, yeah!' Jack crowed, then hooted with laughter as Daniel went red.

'Jack!' he protested, but Jack's laughter was infectious, and before he knew it, he was grinning. 'You are so, so...'

'Handsome?' Jack supplied with an outrageous wiggle of his eyebrows.

'Juvenile, I was going to say,' Daniel laughed.

'That too,' Jack conceded. 'Want to bet on what lunch is?'

'Um... Some form of mystery meat, overcooked veg and... blue jello?' Daniel set about moving his work to the bed.

'Meat loaf, definitely overcooked veg and soggy pie,' Jack said confidently, giving him a hand.

It turned out to be mystery meat, overcooked veg, and some form of pie that had a passing resemblance to apple.

'Bland, my favorite flavoring.' Daniel poked at his pie. 'Would it kill them to use a little cinnamon once in a while?'

'I really don't understand why a base like this one, where there are no planes and not even a damn airstrip, has the same godawful bland food as the rest of the Air Force,' Jack wrinkled his nose at the forkful of limp pastry.

Daniel looked up, surprised. 'What does that have to do with it?'

Jack shrugged. 'Gas. Apparently bland food causes less gas. Which you really don't want when you're pulling multi-g maneuvers in a fighter in enemy airspace. Trust me on that.'

'Oh, ow,' Daniel said. 'I guess that makes sense.' He pushed aside his plate and went to grab more coffee, pouring Jack a refill while he was at it.

'Thanks.' Jack finished up, cleared everything back onto the tray and put the tray out in the hallway. At one end of the corridor, a couple of airmen passed by, chatting. At the other end-

'Colonel!'

Jack winced and plastered on a smile. 'Carter.'

'Sir, what's going on?' Sam asked. 'The SFs won't let me past, the phone in that suite won't take incoming calls, and General Hammond's won't see me. Is something wrong?'

Jack leaned against the door frame. 'Can't tell you, Carter. Drop it.'

'Is Daniel there, sir? I've been trying to find him, too.' Concern flitted over her face.

'Leave it be, Carter. That's an order,' Jack said sternly. 'I'm sure you have important tests to be running on something. Go, do stuff.'

'But-'

'Major.' Jack drew himself up straight, raised an eyebrow.

'Yes, sir,' Samantha said unhappily and left.

'Good job,' Jack said to the SF, who glanced back over his shoulder.

'Thank you, sir.' He returned to his watch and Jack went back into the room.

'Problem?' Daniel asked, not looking up from the papers once more strewn over the table.

'Just Carter's curiosity,' Jack drawled, dropping back onto the bed and kicking off his shoes. 'It's a good job Hammond put SFs out there or she'd be trying to break us out.

'That's an idea,' Daniel said. 'If we get Sam and Teal'c to break us out, we could...'

'What? Go home? Get pizza and beer and watch the game? We wouldn't make it as far as the front gates.' Jack scowled.

'I was thinking we could forget about all this. We wouldn't have to talk about, you know.' Daniel flashed a mischievous smile. 'I thought you'd rather commit seppuku than talk about your feelings.'

'Yeah, well, we have orders. And since these particular orders go all the way to the very top, I don't think anything short of being beamed up by Thor for a galaxy-wide emergency is going to get us out of talking,' Jack grumbled.

Daniel put down his pen, then came and sat beside Jack on the bed. 'I have to say, I'm surprised at how seriously they're taking this. I mean, seriously enough to dismantle DADT and the ban on homosexuality in the military? They're desperate.'

Jack raised his eyebrows. 'You think it'll come to that?'

'You don't?' Daniel asked earnestly. 'If we did this, if we actually got married, how long do you think it'd be before some other gay couple wanted to get married and still serve? When they can point to us and see no repercussions, how fast do you think they'd be bringing a lawsuit? I know the President doesn't like DADT, but I didn't think he had the support to overturn the ban, thanks to people like Senator Kinsey.'

'When I joined up, I didn't think I'd ever be the poster-boy for gays in the military.' Gently, Jack smacked his head back against the wall a couple of times. 'Why would I do this to me? To us? I know I don't get on with my alternate selves, but this...'

Daniel put a hand on Jack's knee. 'Maybe because it's true. Together we make the impossible happen.'

Jack covered Daniel's hand with his own. 'Yeah, we've done some pretty incredible things.' His gaze dropped to the younger man's mouth as Daniel turned his hand over and linked fingers with Jack. In the end, it was ridiculously easy to lean in and brush his dry lips over Daniel's pout. His breath was coffee and the lingering sweetness of pastry and when he kissed back, his lips moved gently against Jack's mouth. It wasn't at all strange and when he pulled back, Jack could see in Daniel's eyes that it wasn't unwelcome either.

'So.' Jack cleared his throat, swallowed.

'I guess,' Daniel smiled a little, a sweet, cautious smile and his eyes were the blue of clear summer skies; unclouded, warm, welcoming.

'Going to keep on working?' Jack asked. He rubbed his thumb over Daniel's, was still holding his hand lightly, fingers clasped loosely together.

Daniel's smile broadened. 'I suppose there are other things I could be doing.'

'You calling me a thing?' Jack grinned.

'That depends on whether or not you think we're up to 'doing' yet, doesn't it?' Daniel held Jack's gaze for a moment longer before breaking off and laughing.

'Ouch! My ego!' Jack groused, laughing with him. He squeezed Daniel's hand and shifted a little further down the bed, then tugged him down. Daniel sprawled on his side and put a hand on Jack's hip, letting the older man slide his arm under Daniel's neck. In answer to the unspoken question in Daniel's eyes, Jack quirked his eyebrows. 'What? If we're going to make out, I'm getting comfy first. I'm too old to be a human pretzel.'

'But you're not too old to be making out?' Daniel teased.

'Never,' Jack denied fervently. He reached up and stroked Daniel's cheek with his knuckles. 'This should be odder,' he mused, turning his hand to cup the younger man's jaw, rubbing his thumb against the sensitive skin by Daniel's ear.

'Think they put something in the pie?' Daniel shivered, his gaze dropping to Jack's mouth as he licked his lips.

'Nope. I still can't think about nailing your ass,' Jack said seriously. 'But kissing would be nice. It's been a long time since I've felt this at ease with anyone.'

'Me too,' Daniel admitted. He leaned forwards, letting Jack's fingers slide into the short hairs at the back of his neck, and pressed his lips to Jack's.

Jack enjoyed the warmth, the pressure, the restrained strength as Daniel kissed him. He let his fingers explore the nape of Daniel's neck, feeling the soft hair under his fingers, the minute rasp of calluses across the smooth expanse of neck. Daniel made a satisfied sound deep in his throat and Jack let his lips part, let Daniel's tongue hesitantly find its way inside. He ran his fingers up into Daniel's hair, holding him closer, his tongue meeting and sliding around Daniel's, forcing a retreat out of his mouth, followed it, invading Daniel's, and with a groan he pulled Daniel down on top of him. He kept one arm against Daniel's broad shoulders, let his other hand sweep down that muscled back until it found the hollow where it rubbed circles over the cotton of Daniel's t-shirt.

Daniel whimpered, pressed himself against Jack's long, hard body. He gripped the shoulder of Jack's shirt with one hand, let the other glide down Jack's thigh, rub up and down as he let Jack explore the inside of his mouth, forced his way back into Jack's with powerful strokes of his tongue.

Jack pulled at Daniel's t-shirt until it came free of the waistband of his fatigues. His hand slipped underneath, stilling for a moment as it found skin. Warm, soft skin covering very not-soft muscles. Hard, masculine muscles. He broke the kiss, gasping for breath, looking up into Daniel's questioning eyes which were darker now, no longer such a clear light blue.

'My god, Daniel!' Jack breathed, holding him tighter. 'What you do to me!' He was amazed, the hardness at his groin the twin of Daniel's. 'I never knew, I swear.'

'You're talking too much.' Daniel couldn't disguise the relief in his voice. 'Does this mean we're doing?'

Jack laughed up at him, dark eyes twinkling. 'We're doing.' He kissed Daniel again until the breathy noises he coaxed out of the younger man threatened to push him over the edge before they even undressed. He broke the kiss again and with a twist of his hips, had Daniel sprawled on his back. Ruthlessly, he stripped Daniel's t-shirt and trousers, dropping them on the floor, then rolled away and hauled his shirt over his head, unbuttoned his fatigues and shucked them off along with his boxers. Rolling back again, he met Daniel in the middle of the bed and they held each other, astounded all over again at their nakedness, their proximity, their arousal.

'Hi.' Jack reached out with an unsteady hand and placed it on Daniel's chest, over his heart.

'Hi,' Daniel echoed, running his fingertips lightly over the salt-and-pepper hair around Jack's nipples. He skimmed down, over Jack's abs, curving his palm around Jack's hip.

Jack's breathing hitched. There was something wrong with the ventilation system: he couldn't get enough air, couldn't breathe, would suffocate here, lying naked on a bed with his linguist, his archaeologist, his lover, his love. In another day they would come in, find them here together. He hoped they would bury him with Daniel. He wouldn't mind dying now if he got to spend eternity with this man, this incredible, astounding, infuriating man.

'I love you,' he gasped and even if it hadn't been his last breath, even if the ventilation system hadn't been broken, Daniel's smile would have stolen away his breath and now he really could die happy.

'I love you too,' Daniel beamed, seemingly having no trouble breathing whatsoever.

'Bastard,' Jack snarled, leaning in and tumbling Daniel onto his back again. 'Bastard!' He ground against the hard planes of muscle and bone that were Daniel, his Daniel, kissing and biting at Daniel's lips, his jaw, his neck.

Daniel cried out, arching up, wrapping Jack in long, muscled arms and legs, thrusting up into the crease of Jack's thigh. Jack let go of him for long enough to reach over to the bedside table and fumble for the lube. He flipped the lid open, managed to squirt some onto his fingers, then he reached down between them and grasped Daniel's cock.

Daniel's hips stuttered upwards, driving his cock through the circle of Jack's hand, sliding easily with the lube. He let out a whine, grabbed Jack's head and kissed him, tongue thrusting in tandem with his hips. Jack rocked against Daniel, letting him drive the pace. Daniel moved rapidly, frantically, holding Jack as tightly as he could manage, and then, with eyes screwed shut and mouth open in a yell, he thrust upwards one last time and stilled, cock pulsing, semen coating Jack's fist. Jack rubbed his thumb against the glans and Daniel twitched, whimpered, twitched again and went limp.

'Fuck!' he gasped, eyes opening at last to fix on Jack's face, seeing his expression for the first time. Serious-mouthed, jaw taut, but a hint of smugness in the crinkle at the corners of his eyes, and in those eyes a world of love. 'Wow,' Daniel breathed and Jack smiled.

'May I?' Jack asked courteously, and Daniel would have laughed, it was such an odd time for politeness, only it wasn't funny, it was sweet and Daniel wanted nothing more than to have Jack as close as possible, always.

'Yes.'

Jack let go of Daniel's cock and reached for his own. 'Condom?' he asked, a catch in his breath the only sign of how turned on he was.

'Not on my account,' Daniel said. 'Janet would have found anything either of us had, and-'

'It's been so long I'm surprised we still know what our dicks are for,' Jack finished, grinning.

'Yeah,' Daniel grinned back. He pulled Jack down for another kiss, slow and gentle this time, as Jack coated himself in the sticky mix of lube and semen.

Jack pushed at Daniel's thigh, turning his leg outwards, raising his knee so that Daniel was spread open. His gaze was steady, watching for any sign of reluctance, discomfort as he reached between Daniel's legs, brushed over his cheeks and ran his fingertips over the crease, stroking gently past his opening, across his perineum and back.

Daniel gasped, a soft intake of breath, keeping eye contact with Jack as he tilted his hips upwards a little. Jack understood the invitation, circling that dimple with his middle finger and pushing in, incrementally harder, until his finger slid inside and Daniel's breath whooshed out. Jack could feel Daniel pushing down, forcing the tight ring of muscle to relax enough for Jack to move his finger in deeper, up to the knuckle, then to the base. He dropped his head, kissed Daniel thoroughly while he waited for the younger man to move.

At last, Daniel canted his hips again and Jack slid his finger almost all the way out, before pushing back in again, slowly, easily, giving Daniel time to object, time to adjust, then did it again. After a couple of minutes of gentle finger-fucking, he pushed in, crooked his finger forwards and found the spot Janet targeted so unerringly in her physicals.

'Shit!' Daniel yelped, muscles clamping down around Jack's finger, shoulders curling up off the bed.

Jack froze. 'Bad?' he asked cautiously.

'No, just... A little warning next time, okay?' Daniel relaxed again. 'It's... intense.'

Jack nodded. 'Gotcha.' He moved his hand again, pulling out all the way, coated his fingers with more lube, and tried again with two fingers.

'Oh! That's...' Daniel blinked, swallowed, breathed harder as Jack slid two fingers all the way in. 'It feels more... bigger than... oh!' Jack grinned and carried on patiently until Daniel had relaxed around him. The flush on Daniel's chest and cheeks, the way his nipples were hard nubs, but most importantly, the way his cock was starting to fill and rise again told Jack that he was ready. He pulled out his fingers carefully, wiped them off on the sheet and took hold of his aching penis.

'Okay?' he asked, positioning himself at Daniel's entrance.

'Do it, Jack!' Daniel was wide-eyed, red-faced, and his hair was standing up in all directions.

'You're beautiful,' Jack rasped, and pushed in.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck, oh god, no, don't stop!' Daniel chanted as Jack breached him, one long, slow thrust taking him balls-deep, and then Jack had to stop, had to think about requisition forms and overdue mission reports because if he didn't...

'God, you're so fucking tight! So hot! Jesus!' he panted against Daniel's ear, fighting for control. 'Oh, god!' He slid his arms under Daniel's shoulders, hugged him, felt Daniel's heels hook around his thighs and that shift in angle was all it took to get him moving. He pulled back, thrust in harder, pulled back again, hating the loss of contact, of skin-on-skin, groin against groin, but fucking loving the sensation of Daniel - Daniel! - so tight around him, hotter than anything he'd ever experienced before, and the thrust in was so - god! - fucking indescribable and he was babbling, he knew it, but Daniel was wrapped around him, legs and arms and mouth on his neck and he must have hit that spot again because Daniel was crying out into his shoulder, shaking, pulsing around him, squeezing him and-

Jack buried himself as deep inside Daniel as he could, and collapsed with a roar of triumph. He couldn't breathe again, couldn't see, couldn't hear, but he could feel Daniel, there was nothing but Daniel, his entire world.

Slowly, Jack came back to himself. He eased up onto his elbows, kissing every part of Daniel's face that he could reach until Daniel choked out a laugh and pushed feebly at his shoulder.

'Get off me, you bastard! You're fucking heavy!'

With one last kiss, Jack eased out of Daniel and pushed himself over to one side. 'I think you broke me.'

'Me?' Daniel squeaked. 'You were the one doing the doing!'

After a moment, Jack chuckled and after another, Daniel joined in. They lay side by side, laughing at the absurdity of life, or maybe it was the way in which fundamentally important, life-changing, world-shattering events came down to sweat and mess and after everything, they were still themselves, still Jack and Daniel, still best friends. And then the laughter died away and Daniel yawned and Jack reached out and pulled him onto his side and into a full-body hug, tucking Daniel's head under his chin, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and dragging Daniel's leg over his and linking his fingers through those on Daniel's free hand. Jack kissed Daniel's forehead, closed his eyes and slept.

They woke a few hours later, kissed, showered, kissed some more, picked up the clothes strewn across the floor and traded socks and t-shirts for kisses until at last they were both dressed and Daniel broke away for long enough to put on another pot of coffee.

'No last-gasp macho military freak-out?' Daniel asked as he handed Jack a mug. He found space for his own among the papers on the table and sat down, shifting a little on the hard chair.

'Not so far,' Jack said. 'You okay? I wasn't too, uh...'

Daniel's smile lit up his face. 'I can still feel it. God, yes, I'm better than okay! I had no idea it could be this good.'

Jack's mouth quirked in relief. 'So you'd maybe be okay with, er...'

'Doing it again? Yeah, sure, you betcha,' Daniel grinned. 'Although I'm pretty sure at some point it'll be your ass on the line instead.'

Jack flushed. 'I, er... I think I could handle that.' He raised his eyebrows, blinked. 'Wow, didn't think I'd be saying that any time. Ever.'

'You realize this might possibly constitute talking about it?' Daniel said, all mock-seriousness and round eyes behind his glasses.

'Tell anyone and I'll make sure they'll never find the bodies,' Jack threatened darkly. 'Not that that's stopped you before, the no body thing.'

'Not that you'd notice, no,' Daniel agreed. Jack watched him as he busied himself among his papers again and didn't question the warm feeling that filled him or the way it spiked every time Daniel looked up and smiled at him.

Dinner was considerably less alcoholic than the previous night's had been. Jack had a couple of beers, Daniel a glass of wine and afterwards Jack managed to concentrate on his book long enough to finish the last three chapters. He took his time in the tiny bathroom, taking off his fatigues to leave him clad only his t-shirt and boxers, brushing his teeth and making sure he was as clean-shaven as possible, before emerging and casually strolling round to where Daniel was hunched over a paper covered in something cursive and swirling that could possibly have been Thai, but only if the script had been crossed with a mutant creeping vine and fed super-fertilizer.

Jack placed his hands lightly on Daniel's shoulders and started to massage them, pushing his thumbs into the knots. Daniel grunted in pleasure, but kept on reading until Jack started on the nape of his neck. Then his head fell forwards, chin to chest, and Jack could feel him relaxing bit by bit.

'That's good, don't stop,' Daniel groaned. 'Mmmm...'

Jack bent over, then, his mouth almost touching Daniel's ear, murmured, 'I can think of a few other ways to make you feel good. Come to bed.' He felt Daniel shiver convulsively, then he stood up so quickly Jack's reflexes nearly didn't get him out of the way in time. Then Daniel had turned, grabbed the front of his t-shirt and was kissing him hard, aggressively, pushing him back towards the bed and down onto his back.

Jack let Daniel climb over him, contented himself with wrapping one arm around Daniel's shoulders, the other hand at his hip, as Daniel, on elbows and knees, wriggled until he had them lined up, mouth to mouth, chest to chest and groin to groin. Jack groaned as Daniel dipped his hips a fraction and rubbed the bulge in his trousers over Jack's boxer-clad cock, which was taking a definite interest in the proceedings. He tried to keep still, but Daniel moved his hips again, doing a shimmy this time which circled his hardness around and over the head of Jack's cock. The fabric of his boxers kept him pinned down, rubbed against the sensitive skin but he needed Daniel to press down, rub harder, needed more friction - needed friction of an entirely different kind.

With a frustrated grunt, Jack thrust his hips up, tried to pull Daniel down, but Daniel leaned his weight onto one elbow and grasped Jack's hand, pulling it off his hip and up, lacing his fingers through Jack's, pressing it to the bed beside Jack's head. Then he shimmied again and Jack whimpered, breaking the kiss to beg.

'Daniel! Quit teasing!'

Daniel grinned evilly and bit Jack's earlobe. 'Patience, grasshopper!' he murmured softly, then licked and sucked the abused lobe until Jack thought he'd go crazy. He was harder than he could remember being since, well, since earlier that day, but still, before that, it must have been at least ten years and if Daniel didn't do something right this instant he was going to explode and die!

'Can't have that.' Daniel pulled back, standing up and moving out of Jack's reach and stripping off. 'The fate of the world, remember?' His face was serious, but his eyes danced and Jack couldn't help laughing.

'Ass!'

'Yes please. But it'd be easier if you were actually naked.' Daniel looked hungrily at Jack's body, dragging a long groan from deep inside Jack's chest.

'Fine, but just remember when you've killed me, you get to explain it to Hammond.' Jack curled his shoulders up off the bed and tugged off his t-shirt, falling back to push down his boxers. He hitched further back on the bed, then rolled over onto his stomach. He grabbed a pillow and stuffed it under his hips, arranging his cock so that he was comfy, stroking himself a couple of times before he could force his hand to let go.

'Jack, I'm not going to rush this and you're not going to die from impatience. Trust me,' Daniel reassured him, brushing his shoulders with a light touch as he leaned across Jack to retrieve the lube. 'I don't want to hurt you.'

'You think being this hard isn't painful?' Jack asked, incredulous. 'Come on, Daniel! I'm not getting any younger here.'

Daniel chuckled and ran his hand down Jack's back. Jack felt his lips touch each scar and forced himself to relax a little as Daniel explored the unmapped surface of his body.

'Are you always going to be this stubborn?' he groused, closing his eyes.

'I think the first time I get to fuck my best friend should be a little special, yes,' Daniel said and Jack could hear the smile in his voice.

Jack sighed in mock-resignation. 'Well, if you put it like that...'

Daniel stretched out beside him, caressed him from nape to hip, ran a callused hand gently over Jack's cheeks, over the backs of his thighs, skimmed fingertips up the insides of his thighs, making the fine hairs there rise as if to follow. With a softer sigh, Jack parted his legs and let Daniel's clever hand explore his perineum, the curve of his balls, the coarser hair leading back to his opening. Daniel catalogued Jack's responses, the minute shifts in position, muscle-twitches, a barely perceptible hitch in breath.

Jack lay there with his eyes closed, feeling Daniel's warmth along his left side, the way the mattress dipped beneath his weight. He could smell Daniel, too, warm and standard-issue soap and something indefinably male and uniquely Daniel. It was oddly reassuring, only it wasn't odd. It was Daniel, this presence, this body, this man he'd spent such a large proportion of his time around ever since they'd met, since Daniel had come back that first time from his year on Abydos. It occurred to Jack that he trusted Daniel more than he'd ever trusted anyone in his entire adult life, more even than Sara, and he'd trusted her enough to marry.

Daniel's fingers moved away, came back slick and a little colder and Jack really couldn't think of any good reason why he should be lying here, letting a male civilian consultant prepare to fuck him, why his heterosexuality shouldn't rise up in revolt and carry him all the way to the General's office, to the President's office if need be, to protest this absurdity. But this was Daniel, the man who had saved his life so many times, who had seen him at his very lowest, who had him rock hard against a pillow with his ass in the air. This was Daniel, who had let him do this very thing earlier, who had trusted him, welcomed him, wanted him. This was Daniel, who he loved. And Daniel loved him.

Jack moaned as Daniel's finger pushed slowly inside. He spread his legs wider, pulling one knee up, giving Daniel space to work his finger in and out of Jack's tight ring of muscle. Relaxing, he allowed the feeling of intrusion to wash over him, letting it fall away, concentrating instead on the way his nerve-endings were starting to tingle, the way the fullness wasn't overwhelming, just unfamiliar. He rocked his hips a little and Daniel pulled his hand back. On the next push, there were two fingers and Daniel was right, it was more, wider than he'd thought it could feel, but still, it wasn't freaking him out. He felt Daniel's fingers turn, crook, slide, and Jesus! Fucking! Christ! It felt like a seizure, if a seizure was lightning inside and connected to the top of his head and the end of his cock and all around his balls and through his ass-

'Like that, huh?' Daniel whispered, leaning his shoulder against Jack's bicep, kissing the nape of Jack's neck. It turned out that Jack was one of the languages Daniel spoke fluently, which was good because the 'guh' which was all that Jack could manage in reply, Daniel translated effortlessly into 'Fuck, yes! I need you inside me right now!' and, thank god, actually acted on his orders.

Jack moaned again as Daniel's hand slipped out of him, but a second later Daniel was lying between his legs, warm and solid, hard muscle, harder cock, pushing against him, wider and blunter and hotter than anything, and then he was in and Jack could only pant as his body struggled to relax, to accept the invasion of self, penetration not just fullness but connection at a primal level. He cried out as Daniel moved deeper inside him, lay heavy against his back, but they were skin-against-skin and Daniel's clean hand was clasping his, and as Daniel came to rest with his balls heavy against Jack's, so far inside that they were one flesh, would never be separate again, deep in Jack's heart the very last walls crumbled and he surrendered himself to everything Daniel was or could ever be.

'Love you!' he gasped, bowing his head, and Daniel thrust gently, slowly into him, kissing that vulnerable expanse of neck, worked his other hand beneath them, curled his fingers around Jack's hardness, and fucked him to the slowest, most intense orgasm Jack had ever felt. With each stroke, Jack could feel every nerve in his ass rejoice. The brush of Daniel's heavy sack was incredibly erotic, sending ripples of sensation through the sensitized skin of his own, making it draw up and tighten. Daniel's hand around his cock, not moving, but warm, comforting, _there_, made him feel loved, cherished, gave him just enough stimulation that when Daniel's cock found his prostate, brushed over it again and again, sending electricity arcing across Jack's nerves, all Daniel had to do was bite down on Jack's neck to complete the circuit and Jack was coming as though he'd never stop.

Daniel grunted as Jack's ass clenched around him. His hips jerked, pushing him as deep as he could go, and then Jack heard him call out, felt him pulse and he was coming inside Jack with soft wordless cries, sounding as close to pain as ecstasy, sending shivers of aftershock through Jack which made him tighten around Daniel all over again, a feedback loop that took forever to die away.

At last Daniel softened and slipped out, making Jack whimper with the loss. Daniel quickly rolled to one side, tugging Jack with him, wrapping him in arms and legs, kissing his neck, his shoulder. Jack clutched at the arms encircling him, but it wasn't until his chest heaved that he realized he was crying.

'Jack?' When Jack didn't answer, when another sob shook him, Daniel rapidly disentangled them, pulling Jack over onto his back so that Daniel could see his face. 'What is it? Did I hurt you? Oh god...'

Jack shook his head, reached up with a trembling hand and traced Daniel's high cheekbones, his strong jaw, his full lips. 'I, uh...' He cleared his throat, swallowed thickly. 'I didn't understand what it meant. I... This much love, I didn't think I had it in me. The closest I ever felt was the first time I saw...' He brushed at his cheeks, cleared his throat again. 'The first time I ever held Charlie.'

Daniel looked down at him, blue eyes so full of compassion and love that Jack couldn't stand it. He turned his head, looked across the small concrete room at the USAF-issue furniture.

'Don't,' Daniel said huskily, settling himself along Jack's side. 'Don't hide.' He wiped his hand on the sheet, placed his palm carefully against Jack's cheek, urging him to look back again. Unwillingly, Jack did so.

'I love you, Jack. I love you with all my heart. I don't... I don't have the words to tell you how much you mean to me.' He brushed a kiss to Jack's lips, kissed his cheeks, his eyelids. 'I know tomorrow we have to leave here, go back to work saving the galaxy, but just for tonight, please, don't shut me out.'

Jack pulled Daniel into a full-body hug, held him as tightly as he could. He buried his face in the curve of Daniel's neck, felt Daniel's arms come around him. They lay wrapped in each other's arms, breathing together, hearts beating in time until sleep pulled them under. Jack woke once, briefly, curled on his side with Daniel pressed against the length of his back, snuffling against his ear with every breath. He shifted and Daniel's arm tightened around him and he fell asleep again.

Morning rolled around unnoticed in the depths of the mountain. With only the small lamp on in the corner of the room, it still felt like evening when Jack opened his eyes. Daniel was sprawled across the corner of the bed, one arm over his face, his back to Jack. One of Jack's legs was across Daniel's, his groin tucked against Daniel's hip. Jack's left hand rested on the small of Daniel's back, the other was tucked underneath his pillow. He watched Daniel for a couple of minutes until the pressure of lying on his bladder forced him out of bed.

Returning, he slid under the covers. Daniel murmured something unintelligible and snuggled closer. Jack wrapped himself around the sleeping archaeologist and dozed, breathing in the scent of Daniel and sleep, sweat and sex. Some time later, Daniel shifted closer, turned onto his back and blearily opened his eyes to find Jack wide awake, inches from him.

'Morning,' Jack said softly. He studied Daniel's face, those sleep-filled blue eyes sending warm fuzzies through him. Daniel's lips curved in a lazy smile.

'Morning.' He kissed Jack thoroughly, ignoring the morning-breath. 'Mmm. Coffee?' he asked hopefully.

Jack laughed. 'So it's like that, is it? Marry me, marry my coffee machine?'

Daniel stretched, cat-like. 'Mm-hmm.' He blinked.

Jack laughed again, kissed him, and got up to put the coffee machine on. He showered quickly, dried, dressed, and was out in time to pour Daniel the first mug from the machine. He stretched out on the bed, over the covers, and watched Daniel inhale his first coffee of the day.

'Are we going through with this?' he asked as Daniel reached the bottom of his mug and attained semi-consciousness.

'That depends,' Daniel said, giving in to a huge yawn as he put his mug aside on the bedside table. He rolled back to face Jack and studied him, a subdued joy evident in his half-smile.

'On what?' Jack asked, stroking Daniel's stubbled cheek with one finger.

'On whether or not that's your proposal,' Daniel smiled.

Jack raised his eyebrows. 'You want me to take you out to dinner and get down on one knee?'

Daniel shook his head, blinked. 'Nope. Just make it sincere. I'd like to believe it.'

Jack rolled over and sat up, snagged Daniel's mug and refilled it, got his own coffee and brought in breakfast. He waited to eat until Daniel returned from the shower, making sure he at least made a vague attempt at a couple of pancakes. Then Daniel busied himself with his translations again and Jack tidied the room, stripping the bed and bundling the sheets with the damp towels from the bathroom. He left the bundle of washing at the end of the bed, then placed the waste bin by the door. The lube he hid in the middle of his roll of laundry.

He sat on the stripped bed for a while, watching Daniel at work. When he shifted, he could still feel faint twinges of last night. He'd finished his book, his yo-yo could only distract him for so long, and Daniel was firmly ensconced in his work. Jack cleared his throat.

'I could go see Hammond,' he offered. 'Straighten things up, get us back to work.'

Daniel glanced up from his papers. 'You're bored enough to face paperwork? Voluntarily?'

Jack laid back on the bare mattress. 'Yup.'

'Oh.'

A couple of seconds later, the mattress dipped as Daniel sat down next to Jack. He leaned over and kissed Jack tenderly, brushing lightly over Jack's lips before deepening the kiss, sucking at Jack's lower lip, exploring his mouth. When he finally pulled back and looked down into Jack's eyes, Jack could still feel the smooth pressure of Daniel's kiss. The corners of his mouth curled up into a smug grin.

'Better?' Daniel asked, with an answering smile.

'Much.' Jack reached up and cupped Daniel's cheek with a warm, callused palm. 'Any regrets?'

'Nope,' Daniel said without hesitation. 'No second thoughts?'

'Nope,' Jack replied.

'Not worried about how the rest of the base will take this?'

'They'll deal, or they'll be transferred. But given the nature of the job, most folks here are pretty open-minded, or get to be before they've been here long.' Jack's grin faded into seriousness. 'Daniel, if you run into any problems at all, with anyone, come see me or tell Hammond. We'll deal with it. If I thought for an instant you'd get hurt because of this, I'd tell the President himself where to shove it. I mean it.'

Daniel smiled softly. 'I know, Jack. You know I can take care of myself, right?' At Jack's raised eyebrow, he sighed. 'Yes, all right, I promise. If anyone causes trouble I'll tell you.'

'Good.' Jack pulled Daniel down for another long, slow kiss. When they broke apart, he cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. 'Better stop that, or I'll have to put the sheets back on the bed.'

Grinning, Daniel scooted back to the edge of the bed. 'Okay. Save it for later?'

'Yeah, sure, you betcha.' Jack sat up, took a deep breath. 'Daniel, you're my very best friend, and now you're my, well, lover, I guess. I don't think too much about the future, but I can't imagine a life without you in it. Want to see if we can live long enough to grow old and cranky together?'

Daniel stared at him. 'That's it? That's your proposal?'

Jack shrugged, defensive. 'Think you can do better?'

Daniel rolled his eyes. 'Jack O'Neill, you are stubborn, argumentative and I have to be insane for doing this, but I love you, I want to spend my life with you, so would you do me the very great honor of marrying me?'

'Huh. Insults aside, I guess that was a little better. Yup.' Jack nodded.

'Yup?' Daniel's voice was rising.

Jack grinned. 'Yes, Daniel, I would love to marry you.'

'Ass.'

'Back atcha.'

They grinned at each other for a while, before Daniel cleared his throat and looked away. 'I suppose I should, uh...'

'Get back to work? Yeah. Me too. Want a hand carting that lot back to your office?' Jack asked.

'I think I'll stay here for a couple of hours to get this finished. As soon as I go back there I'll have a hundred emails to answer and the past two days worth of crap dumped on my desk and it'll take me the rest of the day to sort it out.' He shifted back to the table and picked up the printout again.

'Okay, well, I'll catch up with you later, then.' Jack dropped a kiss on Daniel's head, picked up Thor's anti-bugging device, his laundry and left.

He sauntered down the corridor to the SF. 'At ease,' Jack said as the man stiffened. 'Doctor Jackson's still in there. Don't let anyone past until he comes out, okay?'

'Yes sir,' the SF replied.

Jack called by the locker room and hid the lube behind his toiletries, then stuffed his laundry in the hamper. He wandered back to the elevator and rode it down to the command level. Door open, General Hammond was at his desk, reading a report. Jack knocked on the door frame.

'Come in,' Hammond said, looking up.

Jack closed the door behind him and set Thor's device on the desk, activating it. He sat down carefully, forgoing his customary slouch. 'We talked,' he said without preamble.

'Did you come to any conclusion?' the General asked.

Jack grimaced, a faint red touching his cheeks betraying his embarrassment. 'Yes sir, we did.' He cleared his throat. 'We'd, ah... Daniel and I would like to make use of that marriage license.' Keeping his head high, he forced himself to meet the General's steady gaze.

'You're certain?' Hammond's voice was carefully neutral.

'We are. That letter was a bit of an eye-opener,' Jack confessed.

General Hammond regarded him for a long moment, long enough for Jack to wonder if his CO would have a problem with this, with his relationship with Daniel, with commanding them both, but then George's stern countenance transformed into a beaming smile.

'Congratulations, Jack. For what it's worth, I think you boys are making the right decision.' He stood and offered his hand. Stunned, Jack rose and shook it. 'I can't say I'm even all that surprised. You two are at your best together, always have been.'

Jack saw only genuine happiness in his CO's face. Shaken by the acceptance, it took him a couple of tries to find his voice, 'Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me.'

'So, have you thought about when and where?' George asked, sitting down again. 'I know this base isn't the ideal spot for a wedding, but there's always the briefing room or the mess hall, perhaps?'

Jack grinned. 'I think I know the perfect spot. He nodded at the window.

'The Gate Room? I suppose it is, at that.' George agreed.

'We've already got the rings and the license. I need to go home and grab a couple of things, but I don't see any reason why we can't hold the wedding later on today. It's not as if we have to sort out flowers and a guest list, is it?' Jack said, leaning back in the chair. He frowned. 'I'll need some time to explain things to Carter and Teal'c, but that's about it.'

George nodded. 'Would you like me to be present?'

Jack thought for a moment, then shook his head. 'I'll use the briefing room, that way if they have a problem with it, they can come straight in to see you. Would that be okay?'

'Of course. Are you going to do that now?' George asked.

Jack shook his head. 'If it's all right with you, sir, I'd like to sort a few things out first. Daniel will want to be there, anyway, and right now he's busy working on a translation. Once this gets out, I have a feeling neither of us will be able to get much done.'

'I imagine you're right. Very well, Jack, say fourteen hundred hours?'

Jack ran through the list of things he needed to do. 'Better make it fifteen hundred, just in case.'

'Anything I can do to help?' George asked. 'It's not every day a man gets to put together a wedding in just a few hours.'

Jack sucked in a deep breath as the truth of the General's words hit him. He was getting married. Today. To his best friend. To Daniel. His mouth went dry and his words came out more of a croak. 'Um... You could have the Gate Room clear for eighteen hundred? Maybe have a word with the other team leaders?'

'Leave it to me,' George said kindly. 'I'll let the chaplain know. Any thoughts on vows?'

'I, uh...' Jack could feel panic rising. Hurriedly, he stood. 'We'll make something up.' He shrugged. 'That usually works for us. I'd better get going.'

'All right, Colonel. Dismissed.'

Jack sketched a sloppy salute and hurried back to his office. Ignoring the increasingly large mountain of paperwork in his in-tray, he dashed off an email to Carter, Teal'c and Daniel about the meeting, then jogged down to the locker room and changed into civvies. He made it off the mountain without getting caught by anyone and with a sigh of relief he pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.

In the end, it took him a little over two hours to call the florist and order two buttonholes, pick up his Class A dress uniform, swing by Daniel's apartment to grab his best suit, get a haircut, pick up the buttonholes and collect what he'd had made for Daniel's Christmas present. He was back on the base by fourteen hundred even after stopping for a lunch which, uncharacteristically nervous, he'd only managed to eat half of.

Through it all, he'd focused strictly on the task at hand, keeping his mind a careful blank. But as he signed in and rode the elevator down, he could feel the faint stretch and burn of the aftermath of sex, really good, energetic sex. Sex with Daniel, to whom he was, in only a few short hours, going to commit to spending the rest of his life with. And how the hell he was supposed to explain that to his team, let alone to the other teams, he had absolutely no idea. Jack changed back into uniform as quickly as he could, reached his office, hung up the suit carriers, placed the small box of flowers on the desk, then locked the door and sank into his chair. He leaned forwards, head between his knees, waiting for the roaring in his ears to quiet down. He breathed slowly, deeply, as his lunch threatened to make a reappearance.

'What am I doing?' What the hell am I doing?' he muttered, eyes screwed shut, hands fisted on his knees. There was a knock on the door. Jack concentrated on his breathing. The knock came again, followed by someone trying the handle.

'Jack? Come on, open up.'

It was Daniel. Jack found himself on his feet, opening the door, pulling Daniel through and into his arms, all without conscious thought. Daniel held him, strong arms tight around his shoulders, said nothing as Jack buried his face in Daniel's neck and breathed in the clean scent. When he finally relaxed, Daniel pulled back a fraction, enough to look into Jack's eyes.

'Freaking out, huh?' It was said with a soft smile, and Jack found himself smiling sheepishly in return.

'Yeah, a bit,' he admitted. He sat down again and Daniel perched on the corner of his desk, nudging the box with his hip.

'So?' Daniel reached out a hand and Jack took it, threading their fingers together, thinking distantly that it was a paradox that the man who had spent two days taking his breath away was the one who now made it possible for him to breathe at all, and maybe Carter should investigate that.

'Hammond's happy for us. He's going to talk to the other team leaders. At fifteen hundred, we get to explain all this to Carter and Teal'c. We have a go for eighteen hundred hours. I thought the Gate Room. Is that okay?' It came out in a rush and he watched anxiously as Daniel processed the information.

After a tiny pause, Daniel dipped his head, looking at Jack over the top of his glasses with a gleam that invariably meant he had an idea for causing mischief. 'So we have an hour?'

Jack nodded, throat going dry.

'And we're still technically on downtime, right? Hammond gave us forty-eight hours to sort this out.' The corners of Daniel's mouth twitched.

Jack licked his lips. 'Uh, yeah. But...'

'Come on.' Daniel stood, tugging Jack to his feet. 'I know a storeroom with a dark corner.'

Jack let Daniel tow him out into the corridor. He locked his office and followed, down the corridor, down a couple of levels in the elevator, along more corridors, until at last there was a door that Daniel opened and inside the room, racks of metal shelving and in the corner, right at the back, a stack of cardboard boxes and just enough space for two men to press together from shoulder to knee and kiss like it was some brand new invention, worthy of exploration to the _nth_ degree.

They arrived at the briefing room a couple of minutes late and a little flushed. Jack had run his hands over his hair, glad that the short military cut kept it from getting too out of control. Daniel's hair was longer, though, and despite their combined efforts in the elevator, still looked as though someone's fingers had brushed it every which way. Which, Jack reflected, was at least accurate.

Carter and Teal'c were waiting for them, sitting together facing the windows that overlooked the Gate Room. They murmured a greeting and Jack could feel the two pairs of eyes scrutinizing him and Daniel, mapping, cataloguing, could almost hear Carter's brain working as she tried to figure out what was going on.

'Hi,' Daniel said, slipping into a seat opposite. Jack busied himself pouring two mugs of coffee, handing one to Daniel before taking the chair beside him.

He plastered a smile on his face. 'So, I guess you're wondering about the past couple of days, huh?'

Sam leaned forwards with an inquisitive turn of her head that always reminded Jack of a bird. 'We had a mission scrubbed at the last minute and you and Daniel vanished and no one would tell either of us what was happening, if either of you were ill. Anything could have been going on and we were deliberately kept out of the loop. So, yes, sir, I suppose you could say Teal'c and I are a little curious.'

Jack winced. 'Yeah... Sorry about that.' He looked down at his hands cradling the mug and thought for a second how impossible it was to have to explain him and Daniel to their team. More impossible than travelling across the galaxy through a wormhole; more impossible than falling in love with his best friend without ever noticing. He sighed.

'I really don't know where to start,' he said helplessly, shrugging. He looked up again to see those eyes fixed on him again, but this time he registered the compassion, the concern in those brown eyes, in those big baby blues. He shifted, his knee brushing Daniel's, and the contact gave him strength.

'Sir?' Carter asked, worry evident in her rising tone.

'Okay, I'm just going to lay it all on the table here.' Jack took a deep breath. 'So... it turns out that Daniel and I are actually... in love with each other, and thanks to our alternate selves, the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff think Earth has a better shot at not being invaded or destroyed if we actually, you know, get together. And we're getting married later today.'

It all came out in a rush, jumbled, muddled, not at all the clean, clear, military summary he'd hoped for.

'Nice going, Jack,' Daniel said and Jack could hear the amusement curling through his voice. 'I think they understand perfectly now.'

'Be my guest,' Jack snarled, scowling at his coffee. 'You try explaining it.'

'Oh, no, nope. I couldn't possibly, not when you've covered it so well,' Daniel countered.

'Fuck you,' Jack groused. Daniel laughed.

'Sir? Daniel?' Carter's bewilderment was evident.

'O'Neill, DanielJackson, it might help if one of you were to relate events from the beginning.' Teal'c's level baritone put a dampener on Jack and Daniel's sniping.

Daniel leaned forwards, pressing his leg against Jack's under the table. 'What Jack's trying to say is that, thanks to a letter and some survey data from his future self from an alternate universe, which came through to Area 51 a little while ago, the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff believe that it would be in Earth's best interest for Jack and I to get married. We talked it over,' Daniel ignored Jack's cough and splutter and carried on, 'and we think we can do this. Hence getting married, to each other, later on today.'

Jack risked a look across the table. Sam was staring at them both, jaw well and truly dropped, and Teal'c's eyebrow was raised about as high as he'd ever seen it. He muttered to Daniel out of the corner of his mouth. 'You think if we run we can make it to the door before they do?'

Daniel looked like a rabbit in the headlights. Wide-eyed, he shook his head slowly, almost imperceptibly, as if hoping not to trigger an attack by something fast and poisonous, like a cobra or a scorpion. 'Too late...' he whispered.

'Uh, guys? Want to say something? Anything? I'm starting to freak out a little here,' Jack said, louder, tapping his fingers on the tabletop.

'Is this some attempt at humor, O'Neill?' Teal'c asked, gravely. 'If so, I do not believe it is the correct month for pranks of this nature.'

'Huh?' Jack frowned. 'Not following you, big guy.'

Teal'c raised his other eyebrow. 'Is not the first day of April your 'fool's day'?'

'Yeah... This isn't so much a joke, Teal'c. Or if it is, it's a cosmic one.' Daniel flashed a pained smile, scratched his eyebrow, blinked. 'The alternate universe future SGC conducted a survey of closely related Earths looking to find out what could improve our chances of survival, and it seems that the most important factor they could find was the relationship or lack thereof between Jack and myself.'

'But neither of you is gay!' Sam burst out. 'You were both married! To women!'

Jack didn't have to look to know Daniel was pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to ease a building headache. 'Apparently we're a little more... flexible... than we thought,' he grimaced. 'If it's any consolation, it came as a bit of a shock to me, too.'

'Are you sure there isn't some kind of... alien influence at work here, sir?' Sam asked with a touch of desperation. 'Has Janet checked you both out?'

Jack did his best to ignore the blush which rose at the thought of Janet conducting any kind of a physical on either of them right at the moment. 'Some kind of alien whammy? No, I'm pretty sure there isn't.'

'It was all investigated thoroughly before it ever reached here, Sam,' Daniel said. 'I've done some pretty crazy things under the influence of a whole range of alien influences, and I'm certain this is me, my own feelings and thoughts and responses.'

'It's illegal, though!' Sam looked as though she was hanging onto her composure by her fingertips. 'Here in Colorado, two men can't legally marry, and even if you could, it's against all regulations. The Colonel would have to retire. Do you really want to do that, sir?'

Jack shifted again, pushing away his mug. 'That would be where the President, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a bunch of lawyers come in, apparently. In our case, those regs no longer apply, including Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and the General had the marriage license before he even called us into his office.'

Sam's shoulder's sagged. 'Oh.' She thought for a moment. 'Is this another undercover operation you can't tell us about?'

'After the last one? God, no,' Jack shuddered. 'This is just our usual crazy, weird-assed SG1 shit.'

'No one may force you to marry if you do not wish it, O'Neill,' Teal'c rumbled.

Jack took a breath, then placed his hand lightly over Daniel's, where it rested on the tabletop. 'The thing is, Teal'c, I pretty much do want to.' He waited an endless moment for the reactions of his team mates, his friends, his family, but then Daniel turned his hand over, lacing their fingers together and when Jack looked at him, he lost himself in those clear blue eyes, full of compassion and love, fierce intelligence and honesty. Jack swallowed hard against the sudden lump in his throat, telling himself that it didn't matter so much that he was losing his team if he had Daniel beside him.

'Congratulations,' Teal'c said, breaking the spell Daniel's eyes cast on Jack. He blinked and looked back in time to see Teal'c incline his head gracefully, a tiny smile of satisfaction playing at the corners of his mouth. 'I wish you many years of happiness together.'

'Wow,' Sam murmured, looking a little shell-shocked. 'I felt that all the way over here. I, um, I suppose, congratulations.'

'Thanks,' Daniel said softly. 'Are you going to be okay with this? Because it means a lot to me, to both of us.'

'Are you going to have to split up the team?' Sam asked, struggling to regain her professional demeanor.

Jack shook his head. 'Nope. Things will go on pretty much as normal.'

'Apart from the whole being married thing, obviously,' Daniel added.

Sam blew out a shaky breath. 'Is there going to be a reception?'

'Need a drink?' Jack grinned. 'We can always head out to a bar afterwards.'

'Sounds like a great idea, sir,' Sam managed a pretty sincere smile.

'Is there any way in which we may assist you in your wedding preparations?' Teal'c asked. 'As I understand it, there are many customs and traditions surrounding marriage which I do not believe either of you will have had chance to observe, such as the bachelor party.'

Daniel squeezed Jack's hand tightly in alarm. Hastily, Jack said, 'No offence, Teal'c, but I don't think either of us is big on bachelor parties. No, I think everything's covered, but if you'd like to be my best man, I'd appreciate it.'

'I would be honored to stand at your side, O'Neill,' Teal'c nodded.

'I hadn't thought of that,' Daniel pouted. 'Sam, would you be my best, well, not man, but-'

'Of course I will, Daniel,' Sam hurried to accept. 'We're a team, right? We stand together.'

A band of tension around his chest that Jack hadn't even been aware of loosened and he breathed a sigh of relief. 'Yeah, we're a team.'

He stood, moving round the table and Daniel followed. They shook hands with Teal'c, Daniel hugged Sam and the awkwardness abruptly dissipated when Sam laughed and kissed Daniel's cheek and said, 'Just the same-old, same-old. Sure. So, what time should we be ready?'

'I asked Hammond to clear the Gate Room for eighteen hundred hours,' Jack said.

'Okay, Teal'c, if you meet the Colonel in his office around a quarter to, and Daniel, I'll come to your office.' Jack relaxed further, reassured as Sam discussed details with brisk efficiency. 'Do you have your good suit?'

Daniel looked quizzically at Jack.

'I grabbed it when I swung by your place this lunchtime. It's hanging up in my office.' Jack smiled. 'And yes, I fed your fish.'

'Thanks,' Daniel's face lit up with an answering smile. 'I'll come pick it up in a bit. I need to go talk to Nyan about that translation...'

'Go, talk, translate,' Jack waved them away. 'I have another meeting.' He sauntered to General Hammond's office, knocking lightly against the doorframe.

'How did it go, Colonel?' Hammond asked, looking up from yet more reports.

'Good. Better than I was expecting,' Jack confessed. 'Major Carter seems to be coming round to the idea, since it doesn't mean splitting up the team, and Teal'c actually smiled.'

'I'm glad to hear it. I must say I'm a little concerned about how these developments could affect SG1's performance.' The General looked serious. 'Orders from the President aside, I'm loathe to jeopardize my flagship team.'

'I'll do my best not to let it, sir,' Jack assured him.

'I know you will, Colonel.' Hammond shuffled his papers together and placed them in his desk drawer. 'The other team leaders will be here in twenty minutes. Do you want to be present?'

Jack's eyebrows twitched as he thought it over. 'I should be there,' he said at last. 'Who's coming?'

'SG3, SG9 and SG11 are off-world and I'll brief them on their return. Do you want Doctor Jackson involved here?'

'No, better not. I think he's going to be challenging DADT loudly enough over the next few days. Weeks. Months...' Jack smiled ruefully. 'I have a sneaking suspicion we're going to need that clarified for the rest of the base pretty damn soon.'

'You're not the only one. It's already giving me a headache.' Hammond's smile mirrored his own before worry wiped it from his face. 'With the best will in the world, I can't guarantee there won't be repercussions. Attitudes won't change overnight.'

Jack nodded. 'I know. I don't expect them to. According to scuttlebutt, I've been doing Daniel for years. I suppose it's a little late to get in on the betting pool.' He rolled his eyes. 'I'll have as many people as possible watching out for him and if the worst comes to the worst, I've retired before and I can do it again. Besides, civilian consultants get paid more.'

'I'm hoping it won't come to that. The people who make it here at the SGC tend to be a little broader-minded than the rest of the military. Still, I've asked MacKenzie to set up a program. Awareness, sensitivity training, counseling for those who want it. I know you don't have a high opinion of the man, but I think he'll do a good job here.'

'So he knows about this?' Jack asked in surprise.

'Not the specifics, no,' Hammond said quietly. 'I simply told him that there were some new regs coming with regards to homosexual conduct and we're being used as a test bed. It's close enough. Things are going to have to change around here, no matter what the official regs say.'

'Daniel reckons they'll have to scrap Don't Ask Don't Tell and I think he's right,' Jack agreed.

'He usually is, Colonel. Shall we?' The General stood and indicated the door. Together, they went into the meeting.

General Hammond took the seat at the head of the table and Jack sat in the free seat to his right. He took a moment to appreciate the symbolism before nodding a greeting to the team leaders occupying the rest of the seats.

'Gentlemen, thank you for coming,' Hammond said. 'I called this meeting because I need to discuss something of a rather sensitive nature.' He glanced at each of the team leaders in turn, making sure he had their undivided attention. 'I need each and every one of you to be on board with this, because you are going to have to lead not only your teams, but act as an example for the rest of the personnel here at the base. If you do not feel able to do this, I would appreciate it if you would remain silent when the subject is raised outside of this room as it undoubtedly will be. My door is open; you may come and talk through any concerns you might have. Doctor MacKenzie is also available to you and to anyone else who has any issues or problems. Do you understand me so far?'

Ferretti spoke up. 'Not really, sir, but I'm sure I will any time now.'

Jack ducked his head, appreciating Ferretti's attempt at lightening the mood.

The General stared hard at the Major. 'This isn't a laughing matter, Major.'

'Sorry, sir.' Ferretti did his best to look repentant and was moderately successful.

The General stared a moment longer. 'This concerns Earth security. I can't tell you the details, but the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have taken it seriously enough to begin to change policy.' A rustle went round the table as the officers shifted in their seats. They settled as the General continued. 'As a result of certain information we have received from somewhat unusual sources, Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson have been asked to consider an... unorthodox undertaking.'

Jack forced himself to meet the eyes which turned on him. His attempt at a smile wasn't at all successful.

'Later today, the Colonel and Doctor Jackson will be getting married. This will not affect Colonel O'Neill's standing in the military. He is still the 2IC of this base and the leader of SG1. Neither he nor Doctor Jackson will be transferring from SG1. Do any of you have any questions?' Hammond looked round the table at his team leaders. They stared back at him, gaped at Jack.

After an uncomfortable pause, Jack raised his eyebrows. 'What? Aren't any of you going to congratulate me?'

Ferretti was the first to recover. 'Congratulations, sir! I'm sure you'll make a wonderful couple.' He leaned over and offered Jack his hand. When Jack shook it, he grinned and asked, 'So, will you be wearing white, or will Doctor Jackson?'

'Wiseass,' Jack smiled.

One by one, the other team leaders added their good wishes. Jack made a note of the ones who looked most uncomfortable, who had difficulty meeting his eyes.

Once they were settled again, the General continued. 'Gentlemen, I need to know if you feel you can't work with either Colonel O'Neill or Doctor Jackson. I will not tolerate prejudice on this base and I want you to make that very clear to your teams. So let me make this perfectly clear to you. This marriage is in no way indicative of a pre-existing relationship between the Colonel and Doctor Jackson. It has to do with the continued safety of our planet. Can I count on you for your support?' He went round the table until every team leader had answered him in the affirmative. 'Good. Any questions?'

'What does this mean with regards to Don't Ask Don't Tell?' Ferretti asked, getting down to business.

'That no longer applies to Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson. It still applies elsewhere, at least for now,' the General answered. 'The same goes for fraternization regs and conduct unbecoming to an officer.'

'And when other gay couples want recognition? No offence, Colonel,' Major Reynolds said. Jack was relieved he'd asked the question; he hadn't been one of the uncomfortable ones.

'Then we deal with that as we come to it,' Hammond said. 'We can't offer formal recognition right now, but unless I'm presented with absolute evidence that such a relationship is based on an abuse of power, that it compromises this facility or the people involved - and by that I mean actual damage, rather than the old catch-all of being vulnerable to blackmail - I will not take action against people simply for pursuing a same-sex romance. And the corollary to that is that I expect any such relationships to be as discreet as any other relationships on this base, to not affect the running of this facility in any way. Gentlemen, we are the front line against Earth's enemies. We can't fight them, all the people here on this planet who would dearly love to destroy the SGC and fight among ourselves too.'

He clasped his hands together, leaning forwards as if to impress upon each and every one of them the importance and sincerity of his words. 'I happen to believe that I command here some of the very finest people currently serving in our military, to say nothing of overseeing some of the finest minds in the world with our civilian contractors. And that's before I count those who stand with us from off-world. If we let something as trivial as sexual preferences undermine us, then the very best we have to offer doesn't mean a damn thing. Do you understand me now, gentlemen? Major Ferretti?'

'Yes sir!' the Major snapped, echoed by Major Reynolds and the others around the table.

'In that case, unless there are any further questions, you are all dismissed,' the General said. After a pause in which no one asked any more questions, he rose to his feet, followed by Jack and the others. Hammond was the first to leave, but Jack paused in the doorway and turned to face his fellow officers.

'Thanks,' he said with no trace of his customary levity. 'If there's anything you'd like to say to me, anything you want to ask, feel you need to get off your chests, I'll be in my office for the next hour or so. After that, you know how it is, things to do, civilian consultants to marry.'

'I got a question,' Ferretti said, looking extremely serious indeed. At the twitch of Jack's eyebrow, he asked, 'How the hell did a cranky, beat-up old s.o.b. like you pull a babe like Doctor Jackson?'

'Hey!' Jack was outraged. 'What do you mean old?'

Ferretti held onto his straight face for a moment longer before he cracked up laughing. Some of the other officers joined in. Grinning, Major Reynolds walked up to Jack and thumped him on the shoulder. 'Gotta admit it, Colonel, he's got you there. You're no spring chicken any more.'

'Bastards,' Jack grumbled. 'I'm going. I don't have to stand here and be insulted.'

'No, we can always insult you in your office,' Ferretti grinned.

'I'm locking my door!' Jack turned on his heel and marched off, throwing a half-hearted wave over his shoulder. He stopped off long enough to grab a cup of coffee before settling down to some overdue paperwork which, try as he might, couldn't hold his attention. A couple of team leaders stopped by for long enough to assure him of their support, but after that, he was left to his own devices until a knock disturbed him. He glanced at his desk clock. Seventeen forty hours.

'Come in, Carter,' he called.

'Sir.' Wearing her dress uniform, Sam entered and stopped a couple of feet from his desk.

Jack got up, handed her the box of buttonholes, took Daniel's suit from the back of his door. 'Walk with me, Major,' he said.

'I'll take that to Daniel for you,' she said, frowning. 'You need to get ready.'

'I have time. Come on.' Jack closed his door. 'Are you really okay with this? It's a little freaky, even for SG1.' He watched her out of the corner of his eye, half catching the expressions that flitted across her face.

'I... It is a pretty big thing, sir. It's a lot to take in. But... Yes, ultimately, I think I am okay. With this. With you and Daniel.' Her stride didn't falter, and when Jack glanced at her, he could see she was sincere.

'Okay, good.' They reached Daniel's office in silence.

Hunched over his laptop, surrounded by books and papers and frowning almost as furiously as he was typing, something eased inside Jack. Absently, he noted it was something he'd felt before; in fact he'd felt that same lift pretty much every time he saw his friend. Maybe he should have realized sooner...

'Hey, Daniel,' Sam said, walking into the office. 'All set?'

'Hi Sam,' Daniel replied without looking up. 'What for?'

'Oh, nothing much. Just, yanno, our wedding,' Jack drawled.

'Jack!' Daniel's head shot up. 'Oh! God, yes, of course. Sorry! I was just, um... Am I late?'

'Relax,' Jack grinned. 'I have your suit here. You have fifteen minutes to get ready.'

'Fifteen minutes? Shit!' Frantically, he saved his work.

Jack let Daniel panic for a moment before hastening to reassure him. 'Don't worry, Daniel. It's not like we'll lose our slot if we don't show up on time. Besides, I hear it's traditional for the bride to be late.'

Daniel spluttered and snatched his suit carrier out of Jack's hand. 'Fuck you, Jack!'

'That's my boy,' Jack put on his most infuriating smile, unmoved by Daniel's glare. He waited until Daniel had hung the carrier off the shelf of one of his bookcases, then fished in his pocket. 'Carter, would you mind?'

'Of course.' Sam hurried out of the room.

'Shouldn't you be getting changed?' Daniel asked, scowling at Jack.

'I'll be ready. Here, I have something for you.' Jack held out a small wooden box. 'I had these made for you for Christmas, but I think you should have them now. If you don't want to wear them, that's fine. I just, I hope you like them, anyway,' Jack finished awkwardly, watching as Daniel took the box and opened it, staring at the contents until Jack shifted uncomfortably. 'I should get back. Teal'c's probably waiting,' he offered lamely, but then Daniel looked up at him, blue eyes impossibly wide, shining with emotion.

'Jack, these are beautiful!' Daniel stepped in and kissed Jack. 'They're perfect. Thank you.' He looked down again and lifted out one of the cuff-links Jack had commissioned. The fastening was gold plated, and the front was a gold oval set with lapis lazuli the color of Egyptian skies. Inlaid in fine gold wire was a pyramid with a line coming out of the top and to either side, a small triangle. 'The Abydos cartouche,' Daniel murmured. When he looked at Jack again, his eyes glittered with unshed tears.

'Hey, none of that,' Jack said roughly. 'Leave the tears to Walter.' He leaned in and kissed Daniel lightly, cupping his cheek with a hand, feeling the smoothness of freshly-shaved skin under the brush of his thumb. He broke away, took a deep breath. 'I'll see you soon.' He turned on his heel and stalked out into the corridor where Carter was leaning against the wall.

'He's all yours, Carter,' Jack said, taking the cardboard box from her and extracting one of the buttonholes and a pin. Giving her the box back, he nodded briskly and jogged back to his office.

Teal'c was indeed waiting for him, dressed in the Jaffa equivalent of Class As. 'O'Neill,' he said gravely. 'I began to fear your feet were growing chilled.'

Jack unlocked his door and ushered the warrior inside. 'Cold feet, me? Nah!' he said jovially, tossing the buttonhole onto the desk. 'Shut the door, will ya?' He unzipped his suit carrier and hastily changed into his dress uniform. Teal'c ensured that his tie was straight, his buttonhole was securely pinned in place and that he had his cover, which he tucked under one arm.

'We good to go?' Jack asked, feeling butterflies fluttering in the pit of his stomach. He was beginning to wish he hadn't drunk that last cup of coffee.

'Do you have the rings?' Teal'c asked gravely.

'The General's got 'em,' Jack said.

'Then we are indeed good to go.'

Together, they made their way to the Gate Room, through surprisingly empty corridors. Inside, Jack halted. General Hammond was standing at the bottom of the ramp with the base chaplain. The rails to either side of the ramp had been decorated with ribbons and, waiting at the back of the room were every Earth-side SG team leader and their 2IC, all in dress uniform.

Jack blinked rapidly, swallowing down the sudden lump in his throat. Squaring his shoulders, he forced himself to walk over to the General.

'Sir.' He shook hands with Hammond, with the chaplain, nodded to the assembled crowd, not trusting himself to say anything. Then movement in the control room caught his eye and he looked up to see Walter surrounded by a crowd of technicians, half the medical staff and even some of the staff from the mess hall. A good third of them wore dress uniforms too.

As if a signal had been given, the door to the Gate Room opened again and more personnel filed in, lining the sides of the room in a blur of faces.

'General?' he managed to ask, before having to clear his throat.

'A few people expressed a wish to be present. You don't mind, do you?' Hammond asked with a twinkle in his eye.

'Uh, no sir,' Jack said weakly. 'Was there a memo?'

'Not that I'm aware of,' the General smiled. 'It's about time. You should get into place.' He handed the ring box to Teal'c, who took it with reverence. The chaplain made his way up the ramp to stand in front of the gate and Teal'c, one large hand on Jack's shoulder, made sure they followed.

'I hope no one dials in,' Jack muttered, putting his cover on and avoiding looking anxiously at the door.

'I do not believe any of the off-world teams are due to report for the next few hours, O'Neill,' Teal'c said reassuringly. 'And if anyone does attempt such a thing, Sergeant Harriman will undoubtedly close the iris.'

'Thanks, Teal'c,' Jack said with only a hint of sarcasm. He suppressed the urge to slouch against the Stargate, then had to fight his other urge to go and see what was taking Daniel so damn long.

'Patience, O'Neill,' Teal'c rumbled.

'Do you have your vows ready?' the chaplain asked, providing a helpful distraction that was swiftly followed by a wave of panic.

'Uh...' Jack was saved from having to answer by the opening of the Gate Room door one last time. Daniel stood there in his best black suit, the purple tie setting off the sprig of heather in his buttonhole. His hair was neatly brushed and his shoes were shined. And as he caught sight of the crowd filling the room, he paled and looked as though he was about to be sick. Jack sympathized.

Then Carter was there at his shoulder, murmuring something in his ear which had Daniel looking at Jack rather than at the rest of the room, had him walking towards Jack, stepping confidently up the ramp just as he did on every mission. Jack couldn't take his eyes off this tall, handsome man, couldn't look away from those incredible blue eyes. He swept off his cover and tucked it under his arm just as Daniel reached him.

'Hey,' he croaked, amazed that his voice worked at all by now.

Daniel smiled. 'Hey.'

Peripherally, Jack was aware of Carter stepping round Daniel and standing to the side, but his mind was filled with Daniel, right there in front of him and without considering where they were or the crowd of military personnel around them, he reached out and took Daniel's hand in his.

Jack let the chaplain's words wash over him, hearing without processing the comments about 'unusual circumstances' and 'special permission', let the words of the short military ceremony ripple out, familiar after so many years but not from this close up, never directed at him, at them, until the chaplain said his name and asked him for his vows.

Jack had to clear his throat twice before he could speak clearly. It was only Daniel's eyes, locked on his, that gave him the courage to open his mouth and until the words came out, he had no idea what he was going to say.

'I know I'm not much of a catch. I have bad knees and a dodgy back. I've had it pointed out to me on more than one occasion that I can be a bit cranky. That I don't talk about things, especially anything personal. It's taken the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to get me to realize how I feel about you, for crying out loud. Daniel, you've been my best friend all these years. You know what I'm like and you still put up with me. I'm all yours for as long as you'll have me. I love you.'

As Jack stared helplessly into Daniel's eyes, willing him to understand all the things he couldn't say, the chaplain asked Daniel for his vows and Daniel's voice cracked on the first word and he had to clear his throat too and Jack felt a little better.

'I'm not exactly known for my reliance on other people,' Daniel said. 'I've spent most of my life alone and my track record with relationships is pretty abysmal. Your friendship has been pretty much the longest, most significant and most important relationship I've ever had. Together, we've explored the galaxy, fought against unimaginable odds, seen incredible things. We've gone through so much, done so much, learned so much, but the past couple of days have shown me that what I've most needed to learn is right here. I've learned, I hope I've learned, to open my eyes and my heart to you, Jack. We've died for each other and we've come back each and every time. I hope we can live for each other too. I love you.'

Teal'c handed over the rings. The lump in Jack's throat came back with a vengeance as he slid one onto Daniel's finger and Daniel slid the other onto his. For a split second, the weight and feel was strange, wrong after years of divorce, but then the gold warmed to the temperature of his skin and it was as though the ring had always been there, as though Daniel had always been in his heart. Through the buzzing in his ears, Jack heard the chaplain say, 'husband and husband,' and thought he heard a cheer, but he was holding Daniel's hand in his and it was the most natural thing in the world to lean in and brush a kiss across those full lips, so he did.

When they broke apart, the buzzing in Jack's ears had turned into a chorus of cheers, catcalls and applause which reverberated off the concrete walls. Jack felt a huge grin spread across his face as he turned and saw Carter and Teal'c standing to either side of them and clapping as hard as they could, looked down the ramp at his commanding officer, his colleagues and friends as they celebrated his marriage to Daniel Jackson. As he leaned over to Daniel and whispered, 'My Spacemonkey!' he couldn't help thinking that after all, this was what his alternate self had meant.

_Together, we can do the impossible._


End file.
